Beck

"...we were friggin' in the riggin', friggin' in the riggin' coz there's nothing else to do!"- Sid Vicious

...these two hunters charter a Talkeetna Air Taxi for a float plane drop on a moose hunt at a remote lake in Alaska. Upon dropping the hunters off, the pilot says, "Okay, I'll be back in a week. Stop hunting when ONE of you gets a moose, I've only flown out off here once before with two moose, and I don't want to do that again." "Okay, Okay" say the two hunters, but when the TAT pilot shows up a week later he finds the hunters on shore, grinning, with TWO moose. He tells the two hunters NO WAY he's going to fly out with two moose again, but the hunters plead with the pilot, offer more money and he finally relents. He has the hunters lash the moose to the plane, one to each pontoon, then , leaving all the rest of their gear behind, the hunters and pilot get in the float plane and head for take off. It seems to the hunters it's taking a long time for the plane to take off; this unnerves the hunters. The plane just clears the trees at the edge of the lake, clipping some off the top branches. The plane starts heading for a mountain pass but it's clear to the hunters the plane won't make it- they speak up to the pilot, "Hey, you said you'd taken off with two moose from here before!" and the pilot responds, "yeah, well, we've already gotten further than the last time I tried it!"

...your gear closet holds more than all the other closets in your house combined. ...you eat the bugs that fall into your cookpot, figuring they're more protein in the diet. ...you just can't understand why MORE people aren't out sleeping in a snow trench in a blizzard or curled up in the mud around a tree trunk in the rain like you ... on ultralite trips sans stove, have dranken enough cold instant coffee to find it a perfectly acceptly beverage... the same goes for warm beers from the car at the end of the climb.

Svea stove demonstrations TONITE at Teddy's tavern, 65th and Roosevelt- watch knickers wearing "conquistador of the low-class" Beck attempt to get a Svea 123 airborne in the parking lot- DON'T MISS IT

Yes, I've seen a SVEA blow up once (pretty impressive explosion, had us all running from two, then six foot flames shooting out of thedamn thing until a big WHOOMP launched that stove thirty feet in the air) but we had it put back togther and running in less than ten minutes

I think the pictures clinch the FA and Descent of FRESHIEZ this season, and some truly OUT THERE extreme alpine photos at that! I think Mark is just jealous of your eloquent telling of an harrowing ordeal!

quote: Originally posted by Goat Boy:

I've got a Whisperlite (did not spend any money on that P.O.S.) and it SUCKS. Works fine(I guess, if you take into consideration its' inherent crappy design )it's just a P.O.S.

Come on Dwayner we know you love the pow pow It's no excuse to not go drinkin'

Okay, I'll not mince words here- MSR stoves SUCK THE BIG HC and should be tossed off the nearest cliff. No offence to Larry P intended. Their white gas stoves are nefarious contraptions that require way too much of my time and intelligence fiddling and fussing with them at the end of a hard day or at 4AM- They suck fuel like a SUV driven by a oil exec and I'm sure they brought in Rube Goldburg on the design team. Put TWO fuel controls on one model to get it to simmer better, I can't even tell you how they were intending to fuck up the lowly fuel bottle- With a Svea, you just dump some white gas on the bastard, put the torch to it and, voila, happy cooker! You get like, two hours of simmering time its' 6oz. tank, leaving you plently of time after dinner for a couple rounds of hot toddys- Did I mention a Svea is virtually indestructible? Drop it 30 feet off a ledge and chances are it'll still be running when you climb down to retrieve it- I'm sorry to all you diehard MSR fans out there, it's just that...those stoves SUCK.

A harrowing and adrenaline packed retelling of a terrifing FRESHIEZ EPIC- way to go, guys, truly an inspiring tale for all!!

Ya,tanks, Jonathan,I'm trying to not comment on how much MSR stoves suck but rather the better alternative... as to white gas and lacquer issues... I understand this is an interaction between the oxygen and fuel in fuel container... same for auto fuel tank or stovetank..everyone's got some beatup, leftover fuel bottles, right? The trick is to distill your whitegas into the smaller bottles as soon as you buy it, then keep trying to keep your fuel bottles topped off until you've run thru the entire gallon, this seems to help reduce/eliminate fuel clogging/age contamination... And MSR stove problems? Let's see, better not be a dirtbag or you'll find there's lots of chances to contaminate your fuel, or pump... how about when you need to change fuel bottles and it's freezing out, wet , and muddy and you drop the pump mechanism?

On the subject of gear shops stocking stove stuff, has anyone seen any Svea 123 's sitting on shop shelves anywhere locally? (I might want to get Xmas presents for some whisperlite loving friends of mine!)

TR's are in from Teddy's last epic misadventure, coming this fall to CC.com

BridgeCreek Campground Oct.19-20, should be a full moon right about then, too, sounds excellent for a fall shindig

There's NO WAY Teddy Ruxpin would write for such a professional operation like Alpinist.com or gumbynist, he's been too busy this summer chasing new love interests up at Poodle Dog Pass anyway- sorry, Jon!!!

anybody put the boards on the pow this season yet? Snow isn't FRESHIEZ if you're not shredding it up, I'm sure a lot of people got snowed on this weekend if they were up high enough (I was getting snowed on Saturday but I wouldn't call it FRESHIEZ)

Dudes, I think made in the USA is worth paying extra for. Wouldn't it be a better world if huge corporations got a little bit LESS and small companies got a bit MORE? TNF gets less money and FF or Nunatak or WM got a bit more of our biz? As a comparison- In footwear, you can purchase great shoes that are fullgrain leather with a leather lining,resolable(naturally),Vibram soles and removable cork footbeds that are made in the USA and last you 20 years-cost 250 bucks; OR you can buy petrochemically produced Made in China tennis shoes you throw out every six months and cost whatever they can soak you for. parallel to this argument- does one choose the Starbucks for coffee or an independant barista? Why complain about being able to buy a 300 down jacket that's made in the USA- I'm always thankful I didn't grow up in Poland or Albania, Blah blah blah, I'm happy to have all these great choices to make as an American

Ah, the administration's intent on lessening restrictions on logging is their desire to minimize environmental group's ability to influence government's changes to environmental rules

Jon, check out the Gregory Bike bag sold at MEC, it's made out of hypalon or sheltertite waterproof material and the price looked right. Or, I can sell you a set of the smaller Ortleib panniers for 25 bucks if you want them. [ 04-12-2002: Message edited by: Beck ]

Damn, DRU that truly is a quantum leap in pub club theory- but who wants a couple dozen drunken climbers milling about their pad? Maybe we need to have a good old fashioned KEGGER party out in the sticks

...maybe if there's waist high coyotes with white neck ruffs, klenke

Wolves getting de-listed from the Endangered Species Act? WTF? Is this a response to their population becoming vibrant and sustainable (which, 30 pairs of introduced wolves do NOT a stable population make) or a financial decision to place the burden of wildlife management on the shoulders of state government? Methinks the latter. It sounds like the special interest groups (ranchers, farmers, scared townies) are trying to burden the feds with the costs associated with keeping species on the ESA, and the feds at the D of I responded by saying, essentially, "you won't get the money from us to administer your state programs, set up your own plan and we'll stop overseeing endangered species in your states that come up with a plan." I DON'T think they have the best interests of the wolves first in mind. Oh, and wolves run thru the Cascades- I saw one last summer up off Mountain Loop Hiway.

Don't take this as difinitive, I'm no gear head but... to the best of my knowledge, UIAA and CE approval are certifications both established by the European Manufacturing Community.UIAA certs are for products that are safety related(climbing gear, bike helmets, etc.), the UIAA cert came first and has slightly more relaxed testing standards then CE. (not regarding the strength of any materials, I think the testing process itself is more extended and expensive.) CE certification covers a lot more than just climbing gear (look at the back of your DVD player, or telephone) It certifies the product is approved for sale in Europe. When it comes to climbing gear, either UIAA or CE gear is tough and tested. However, if it hasn't met the CE certs, it's not going to be sold in Europe. Some manufacturers are choosing to not test to CE standards as a cost issue, so these goods are only available domestically.

The more you post on cascadeclimbers.com, the less time you have to actually spend working!